Cattle hauler and semi hauling beer in chain

Reporter

Courtesy Boone County Fire Protection District.

Courtesy Boone County Fire Protection District.

Cattle hauler and semi hauling beer in chain-reaction crash on bridge over Missouri River

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COOPER COUNTY, Mo. — Tuesday morning about 10 a.m. June 6, 2023 reports of a multi-vehicle crash on the Missouri River bridge near Rocheport halted I-70 traffic.

MODOT ALERT 6/6/23: I-70 westbound CLOSED at mile marker 116 due to a multi-vehicle crash at the Rocheport Bridge. Westbound traffic is being diverted to US Rte 40 at Exit 121. Law enforcement advised the roadway could be closed for several hours.

MODOT Travelers App during crash event.

Cooper County Fire Protection District and Boone County Fire Protection both responded as the Missouri River is the jurisdictional line.

The crash involved two semi tractor trailers, GMC van, Toyota RAV 4, Ford F-150 and Ford F-350. Firefighters extricated a crash victim from one of the pickups and transported to an area hospital suffering minor injuries.

CRASH NARRATIVE: "All 6 vehicles were traveling west on I-70, over the Missouri River bridge. Traffic was slowing ahead due to construction which restricted traffic to one lane. An unknown vehicle swerved and braked abruptly in front of [GMC van] causing a chain reaction crash. All six vehicles came to rest blocking both westbound lanes of I-70." — Cpl E.C. Penrod, Troop F, MSHP

MSHP Preliminary crash report.

"One semi was hauling approximately 53 large steers, which was significantly damaged and approximately 12 cattle escaped the wreckage prior to fire arrival. The other steers were contained in the trailer while the escaped steers were rounded up. 50 steers were then loaded onto arrival trailers and transported from the scene."

— COOPER CO. FIRE PROTECTION DIST.

The cattle contained in the trailer were a concern. "While on scene of the accident, Firefighters responded with a brush truck to cool other cows that were overheating in the traffic jam. The truck had been stopped in traffic for several hours," Boone County Fire Protection state.

MODOT UPDATE 6/6/23 2 p.m.: Both WB lanes & 1 EB lane of I-70 remain closed at the Rocheport Bridge (MM 115). The cargo from 1 of the vehicles must be unloaded before it can be removed & the roadway reopened. The estimate to reopen all lanes is approximately 2 hours.

The cargo was beer that had to be off-loaded before the trailer could be removed Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop F share in a tweet.

Just before 3:45 p.m. all lanes in both directions of I-70 were opened.

Reporter

Shannon Becker was born and raised in Joplin and began in radio before graduating from Joplin Senior High in 1990. He holds a bachelor's degree in mass communications from Missouri Southern State University (1994). Before launching Joplin News First in 2017, he worked in television and radio, overlapping a career in the music industry. He worked with major music artists for 20 years, garnering gold and platinum records to his credit. He comes to KOAM 7 News Now-CBS/FOX (Morgan-Murphy Media) with more than 30 years in media and entertainment. He previously worked for KOAM. He has five children and two grandchildren.